What Ana Does

Something crazy just happened that I have to tell you about! The best shipping mistake.  I've been in love with this City Maps wallpaper from Rifle Paper Co since it came out a few years ago. I didn't have a spot in our old house for it, so I've just kept my eye on it.  It's pricey, at $65 per roll, so I knew I needed a small spot that just needed a punch of great design.  Well, I found a spot.  In our kitchen's dining area, we have this wall that's between the walk-in pantry and sliding doors, that lead out to the patio and pool. Originally, I put the home computer and "command center" there, but it was getting in the way of the natural traffic flow out the door, so I moved it to the other side. That left this wall available for pool items -- towels, a bin of shoes, sunscreen, hats, etc. Making it way more functional for our needs.  The small wall hook decor was purchased in Paris and worked there, but it's not going to be sufficient for the heav...

This bathroom makeover was only supposed to be $150. But, I had a small accident and now it's just a bit more. In Progress: Watch Out For Falling Lights! Peel and stick wallpaper isn't sunshine and roses to hang. It's sticky and doesn't like to be straight. I've done it twice before and I knew what I was getting myself into. So, this time I bought the smoother tool and an exact-o knife, so I was well prepared. Luckily, this pattern I chose DOES NOT NEED TO LINEUP PERFECTLY. It's glorious. You can't see the seams anywhere. It made life easier. What didn't make life easy, was the vanity light .. I was standing on the vanity, uninstalling the light and trying to figure out how I was going to run the wallpaper behind the light fixture when it CRASHED and SHATTERED to the top of the vanity ... were my bare feet were. GAH! I feel so lucky I didn't end up in the emergency room with glass coming out of my feet. Yikes. But, unluckily, it added...

Updating the first floor powder room, across from the laundry room, was definitely on my task list for this Spring. Mostly, replacing the single-basin vanity with a cabinet vanity. And maybe some tile. BUT ... as things go, we ran out of budget to buy a new vanity. (Maybe next year?) Nevertheless, I wanted to jazz it this week but stay on a very tight budget -- $100 max . I was thinking a new rug, light fixture and some kind of colorful statement. It all started at Target ... I walked past this leafy green peel-and-stick wallpaper ( Devine Tropical Wallpaper ) a few times before I tossed it into the cart. It's a statement for sure and on budget at $30. But would it work? First , I was very frustrated the last time I did this removable wallpaper installation ( see that post ). Second , but I totally loved it after it was all done. Third , I didn't think it would match the wall color, thus forcing me to paint that powder room -- as much as I love painting rooms, paintin...

Included on my laundry room task list is this little closet. It's behind the room's door (pulled off to paint) and once had a bifold door on it which we removed because the space was too tight. It's too dinky to be a coat closet, anyway. In the past, this closet was dedicated to our dog. We had a crate and basket of accessories, etc. And we'd like to use it for that again. I thought instead of an ugly crate, I can install a baby gate in this doorway and use that as a crate. But I wanted to make the wall a little easier to clean, and add more shelving. Here's the before ... First, after I built all those shelves for the pantry , I had all this confidence to build more. So I added two built in shelves. (I may even add more!) Then I did research on removable wallpaper, which is similar to contact paper. It's wipeable and can be a pretty accent. So I added this paper I  got from Target  to the plan. (Though, I did look at Spoonflower shop on Etsy f...

In the laundry room, I leveled-up on the utility sink and bought this $250 one. The faucet with the extending hose is what really sold me. Anyway, instead of going full tile, with the grout, thin set, etc. I decided to find some fun peel and stick tile. I've seen them around and they're very affordable. I found this on Wayfair and thought it was going to be perfect. A little burst of color! And super-cheap! It installed pretty easily. It's basically vinyl puffy stickers. And I loved it when it was finished. Voila! Lovely! Then I woke up to see this ...   After: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For So, gotta come up with a plan B. Related links More Laundry Room posts 

I've been having a hard time taking photos of the entryway -- being tall and narrow. So, here's what I've come up with so far. In this angle, yes, you'll see the gold pendants I made for Christmas falling down. Classy! But you'll also see that piece of molding under the second floor railing. See it? OK now imagine if I continued it into the entryway -- all the way around ... thus dividing the tall space into two. That's good, right? The top half would be painted the glorious white that I'd like to paint all the awful beige walls. The bottom half, well, that's the fun part. It can be just about anything! I thought about adding some built ins or bold wallpaper. I have a Pinterest board that is slowly getting filled with inspiration. BUT, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning... What are my goals for my entryway? 1. Hooks! This space isn't a daily dropzone, but I have lots of neighbors and playdates who ...

The Sad Entry Way ... Months Ago What are your thoughts on wallpaper? I'm thinking about my entryway again because I recently imposed a deadline of end of April to come up with my master plan -- and the ideas are starting to flow in. And when I think about the big "POW! Huge Impact!" statement I want to make the minute you walk into our house, you can't get bigger impact than a massively COOL wallpaper. And, as I'm shopping around, it's about the same cost as a bucket of paint. (Unless, I get some amazingly fab hand-drawn design (not likely) -- that stuff is crazy PRICEY!) I'll try to stick to the navy, green and/or yellow color scheme I've been working with. And I'm a fan of the geometric patterns or organic patterns. I'm also considering using the wallpaper in a section of the wall -- because, remember, this entryway has walls that are 2-stories high. So with some clever use of moldings to break up the massive area, I can pick and c...